Currently, there is no common repository for cancer specific clinical and research data to support translational research. Clinical research programs are interested in collecting a detailed set of clinical and research information on their patients that is easy to maintain and from which relevant data can be analyzed and extracted. The information needed is not a repetition of the existing electronic medical record, but instead provides additional, complementary, and specific information for analysis and presentation of the data for various research studies. Each program, however, has established their own mechanisms for extracting, recording, and using this data, using a variety of technical approaches. These mechanisms have so far been incomplete, difficult to maintain, and difficult to extract data from. Thus, what is needed is a method and a system for allowing the user to extend the research application to collect additional data in combination with pre-defined data collection. What is additionally needed is a method and a system for allowing the generation of reports which include the extensible data added to the application for collection, analysis, and information extraction.